Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wisdom

During one of our first in-service days in August, we completed an exercise in which we discussed the Portrait of our Ideal Graduate. It’s a way of examining how our mission should manifest itself in the lives of our alumni. A few days later, we enjoyed wonderful, probing discussions about adulthood prompted by our summer read, Dan Heischman’s Good Influence. We talked about what adulthood means, the adults who have mattered to us and how this all ties to our being meaningful educators.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of overlap occurred during the two sessions. It seems to me that in drafting our ideal graduate, we also are articulating what sort of adults we wish to be. The reason lies in our fervent desire to give each student what he or she craves. We want to be not just a good influence, but the best possible influence.

The lists of qualities in each exercise were long. I’ve been pondering those lists and wondering just what young people look for in adults. At the risk of oversimplifying, it’s wisdom. I define this as having a deeper sense of life’s questions and even embracing their inherent mystery. People with it seem to grasp something most of us struggle even to touch. But we keep reaching for it. This notion is captured well in a five-minute video on The Wisdom Book.

How do you define wisdom? More important, how do you help young people gain it?

6 comments:

LaDonna
said...

Wisdom is truly a mystery! For me, wisdom is much easier recognized in other people than in myself. The other reason wisdom seems to be a mystery is because we never know when we have achieved it or how we got it. Many times someone will mention an act or conversation that I thought nothing about and for the other person it had meaning or relevance. To me, you should be caught off guard when you realize you have wisdom. The fact that something you said or did something that had meaning for someone else is a very powerful thing.

With that basis, I would suggest that wisdom is something that cannot be taught. We can only be active participants in the journey of life and hopefully through these everyday simple acts our children will become active participants. We can teach our children to live, love and actively participate in whatever it is that moves them. A great starting at the point is the realization that we are all children of God and have something to offer someone, somewhere. When will they be considered wise; and what will they have done? Who knows! Last spring, I saw the beginnings of wisdom as I watched my son play bingo at C.C. Young. That is the beauty and the mystery of wisdom, it is very hard to define; but we all know it when we experience it

Wisdom, to me, is a concept which goes beyond surface accumulation of facts and our tactile grasp of them. Wisdom is the ability to scintillate those facts, seeing an overarching design to them which transcends mere surface intelligence. Acquiring it requires an exquisite fine-tuning between individual facts and the essence emanating from them. A perfect balance--rarely attained, but beautiful to behold!

Wisdom, to me, is a concept which goes beyond surface accumulation of facts and our tactile grasp of them. Wisdom is the ability to scintillate those facts, seeing an overarching design to them which transcends mere surface intelligence. Acquiring it requires an exquisite fine-tuning between individual facts and the essence emanating from them. A perfect balance--rarely attained, but beautiful to behold

LaDonna,I agree completely that one cannot teach wisdom. But I do believe that one can model a way of approaching life that creates greater chances for stumbling upon it eventually. Too often, though, we don't. At the risk of oversimplifying, if a student approaches learning as a means of earning praise and/or a grade rather than as a path to understanding, then wisdom will remain elusive. Indeed, it may not seem important. And we--educators and teachers--send kids many mixed messages about that idea.

Sylvia, I agree with your thinking but would take it a step further. What you describe, while wonderful, could occur in a strictly intellectual framework.That's crucial, certainly; but wisdom strikes me as beyond intellectualism somehow.

Absolutely correct, Mark, and I see where my comment could be construed to be confined to an intellectual vacuum. However, my comment planned to stress how important learning, tempered by the intelligent application of that learning, construes a delicate balance which is the first step to attaining wisdom. Notice how I stress "the first step," as wisdom itself is so much more all-encompassing and broader in scope than mere knowledge. It is as if the heart and mind had been molded into a coherent whole. Rare attainment, but to be sought at all costs. What I implied is merely the first step.

Your provocative musings certainly are refreshing to grapple with! Thanks for providing us all with great food for thought!

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St. John's Episcopal School

St. John's is a pre-k through eighth grade co-educational school dedicated to a program of academic excellence designed to train the mind, strengthen the character and enrich the spirit of each student in a Christian environment.